Active play is essential for a child's development, but research reveals that today's kids aren't playing every day. Parents and children face similar barriers when it comes to play: time, inspiration and an increasing reliance on technology.

Have just added 2 photos of my kids playing in the rain. Very excited after being stuck inside for days on end with all the rain and a new born brother making it a bit difficult to get out. They we re so excited to get outside and enjoy some fresh air while playing in the rain.

Have just entered 3 great photos into the competition,My family stayed at Akaroa for a week in the school holidays and we had lots of activities planned to keep our children busy,active and entertained, Some activities were as easy as walks to the beach/bay,parks,riding a bike,fishing,kayaking it doesnt cost a lot of money to have fun with the kids and create memorable snapshots for the photo album.please check out my photos and enjoy...

My sons best friend and playmate is his brother, and vice versa. At the ages of 6 and 4 they are great fun for each other and they always have somebody to play with. When the sun is shining they are outside running around chasing each other, racing bikes, playing rugby or jumping on the tramp and during the rainy days they build huts and play snakes and ladders or have pillow fights, our house is full of noise and movement and activity every day and their room is always messy with lego constructions half finished and books next to their bunks. Of course it’s not always fun and games, they have arguments and fights, they push and cry and scream sometimes, but in the end they always make up and start chasing after each other again. With a 6 month old baby, and the third boy, who kicks his feet wildly and squeals with excitement when he sees his brothers (and his best friends) running around or kicking a ball I can see that our house will be active for years to come and I look forward to it.

My 5 year old son found his best friend at pre-school at the age of 2. Both Lachie & his best friend Liam went to preschool 2 mornings a week, and both LOVE farm machinery (tractors, harvesters, etc etc). It took them no time at all to find each other, and become inseperable. They love playing 'farm' games, and they are both very energetic. They run around non-stop, and love any games that involve being outside, and getting dirty (typical boys). I love that they found each other so early in life. It was great for me too, as I got a lovely new friend in Liam's mum. Liam is now at school, and Lachie is about to start, which they are both sooooo excited about, much more time to play together!

I try and get my kids to play outside when ever the weather is fine, but if its a cold day (as it often is in Taupo!) the kids join in when I do my zumba dvd they really enjoy it and its great for their co-ordination too!

My 22 months little man is learning to ride his bike , by copying his cousin who is staying with us She is 11years and she helps him a lot . My 11 year old nice is trying to get the hand on using stake shoes that was given to her at Easter in stead of a Easter egg with grazed knees and the rest she is getting their

My 10 yr old son has mastered "freedom" of riding his bike, yes he can ride a bike, no problems, has been able to from a young age. The difference is now he can hop on it with his 2 good friends by his side (well behind each other) and off they go for a ride at his school or to either of his friends houses. Seeing him enjoy his new freedom with my support just makes his day. It's BIG steps like this that make me realise how big he is. Keep safe my Joshy boy. xxxx

My 5-year old daughter has now mastered riding a push-bike all by herself. She learnt to balance on her two-wheeled scooter & my son's balance bike (amazing machine really) and she has mastered the pedal-motion while riding a trike and the steering action as well. I removed the training wheels from her bike but she never had the drive to get on it. Then just the other day she brought home a book from school. It was about a boy who removed the training wheels from his bike and then learnt to ride it. She then disappeared and saw her outside struggling to pedal her bike. i taught her how to start off then feet on and pedal. i held the back of bike a couple of times. My son then wanted on the trampoline so my daughter was forced to work it all out on her own... and... she did - YAY SUCCESS, now we can't get her off the bike. Next she'll be borrowing my car keys!

My little girl who is 4yrs has just learnt how to hit a shuttlecock for badmatin and is loving playing this game with us, we get alot of laughs out of watching her to, she is so good at trying new things

My boys are just 13 months and have just started to walk holding onto furniture. They are mastering climbing up sofa. They will try so hard that when they cant do it they will fall onto the ground and scream.. its so cute!!!

I've got a 5 year old . Here in Auckland, we haven't had much of a summer - it's either been wet or windy so outside play time after school is a bit of a challange, as well as being heavily pregnant, I haven't got the energy myself to play outside with her. I have brought some dvds's though which actively involves her in dancing, jumping or pretending to be something. Two great dvd's we have are The Polkadots and Hi-5. She'll easily get in at least 1/2hr - 45mins of full on dancing, singing and active movement after school but copying what they are doing. It's a pretty good workout for her as afterwards she is so thirsty and hungry so has used a lot of energy.

We only have activities a few days a week after school so the girls love their imaginary play. They play "mums and dads" and "schools" heaps. Good old fashioned play like we used to do as kids. If they aren't doing that then they are outside with the neighbours riding their bikes/scooters or on the trampoline and sometimes still playing their school games. It's great to observe and listen to them play so happily.

I help my boys (3&5) play by giving them lots of free time at home rather than being rushed around to activities. In my mind unstructured play is the best way for kids to learn. Some of my favourite memories from childhood are building huts or something like that with my buddies without a parent supervising. I love it when my kids are bored and then telling them to go and play and seeing what they come up with! It is great for them to use their imagination. Of course this is all in the safety of our home/backyard. It is good for kids to be bored sometimes so they learn to amuse themselves!

i always help my kids by playing with them we go exploring or walking and i show them how to play the old games that i used to play like elastics and double dutch sometimes just walking down the drive way to check the mail can turn into a two hour journey if you have something to do or "play" with. sometimes i think my children spend too much time inside, and you can say go outside and play or you can say im going outside to play come with me.

We've got a 3-1/2 y.o. and a 5-1/2 y.o. in our house. We only watch actual tv in the mornings Sesame Street (6-7am) and then Kidzone (7-8am). After that it's time to get ready for school. In the afternoons and on rainy weekends, our rules are simple: chores need to be done (ie: plates cleared off the table, messes tidied up, teeth brushed), and after that it has to be off as much as it's on. So if we have 30-minutes of Curious George, then we'll do 30 minutes of colouring or jumping on the trampoline to balance it out. The joy of this rule is that they often get so absorbed in their creative playing that they'll spend heaps longer doing that than they do in front of the screen.

The other type of screen time we have now, with our eldest, is computer games. He's particularly mad about Reading Eggs, an online phonics/literacy programme. So the rule is that he's only allowed to do 2 lessons after school, and then he MUST do something physical. It can be trampoline or tag with his brother, or sometimes he chooses to do a yoga video.

We have a 3 year old staying with us at the moment and he is easier to moniter. We hired a Bob the Builder DVD and he watches that for a little awhile and a little bit of tv. Then it goes off. He handles it well. However our 11 year old is a different story. We have strict rules around the computer and have set up all the safety features to avoid him accessing inappropriate sites. If he tries at any time he is banned from the computer/internet for a certain length of time. It is also set up with a time feature which means he can only get in at certain times and it switches off at the end of that time. The television is also strctly monitored. However we relaxed the rules regarding appropriate programmes and dvds as he has started at Intermediate. He knows he has certain DVDs he can watch without asking. Anything that is Rrated is off limits and anything that is AO he has to ask first. He is pretty good with them. On a rainy wet day he can watch more television because he can't get outside. He also watches extra when sport is on as he is very sporty and loves watching it with his dad. Otherwise we insist that he spends time outside - on his bike, playing sports. It is not easy but we try to keep a balance between what we allow and what we dont. We also explain our reasons for not watching something to him and answer his questions. We don't believe in removing the television and computers as they are part of life.

Hi my ten year old walk to and from school most days when she come home l give her afternoon tea then she has her home work which I hello her with , if it is fine we go over to the park to play as two year old is included in this or we walk down to the beach .,we play lots of games by the time that we a finishes we could have up to five other children playing with us , the TV doesn't go on until after 6.30 pm on wet days out come the board games which a great on ,Saterday night we watch a movie with the kids, I try to get the kids out and playing most days and lest TV and computer unlest needed for home work kids need to play each day

During the weekthe TV doesn't usually get turned on until tea time, whenour 2 boys (5 & &) get to watch cartoon network until the news comes on. After school they get their homework done, then are either outside or playing monopoly deal (card game). On the weekend, they are allowed to turn the TV at & and watch while they ave their breakfast, then usually outside once it is late enough. (Don't like to disturb the neighbours too early.

we have a rule of 1.... she gets 1 movie or about an hour of computer each day she is happy with that she has how ever started asking EVERYONE if she can play games on their phones so i have had to say no.

We don't have any specific rules, Luckily i have naturally active kids.Couple of tv programmes to chill out to while having afternoon tea after school and then they're off outside to play (especially during the summer). However i do feel they are disadvantaged in this day and age with not being able to take off up the road on bikes etc... it's sad really that they can't have the freedom we experienced as kids, it does limit they're ability to take responsibility for themselves and learn to cope as growing little people.

This is our 2nd year without tv. I found my daughter was spending far too much time watching tv and I also thought it was affecting her ability to concentrate. TV time has been replaced with books, board games and alot of outside play. My daughter is doing a lot better at school since we stopped watching tv. They are allowed to play for 15 mins on my laptop each day as well as doing research for homework. We do not have any electronic games. They are happy playing real life games such as bull rush, 123 home, etc the sorts of games I played as a kid.We watch family movies together on my laptop on a Friday or Saturday night.I definately think it has improved our life going tv free.

I make sure that my daughter do activities in study ladder then have a play in the computer for about 1 hour maximum. If she surf,she always tells me where she would like to go. On tv viewing, an hour or so is the maximum. i make sure that i am around so i know what she is watching. By 8 to 8:30 pm, it is a rule that she is off to be. On top of this, of course, homework is done.

they can watch a bit in the morning after they are ready to go eaten dressed teeth brushed the works. this might give them 10 minutes if they are lucky then they get to watch their sponge bob after kindi after that outside till tea time no more tv today -

I agree with 20 minutes for younger children, my 9 year old has a routine where, she has a snack after school and straight to her homework for 30mins, she is allowed online for 20mns for Maths practice and then she has freetime which she usually spends outdoors with a friend or in her room, with her toys. After dinner she is allowed free computer play for 30mins, where she can choose what games she wants to play. This time is monitored all the time because the computer is in the dining room where I can use it when I need to and keep an eye on everyone else as well!!

spotlight was a fun game to play at night with your parents. capture the flag, leapfrog, and whats the time Mr wolf? were all fun games to play in my childhood with friends. Brings back awesome memories just typing this. The more kids there were the better the games were too.

I think what we would all agree on is that we don't feel the "outdoors" is as safe for our children these days as it was when we were growing up. Perhaps the best tip for encouraging our children to play is to foster good relationships with our neighbours, to look out for each other's children, to provide chances for local friendships to grow including "play date" scenarios even for bigger kids. When you put enough children together with a bit of access to the outdoors it's amazing how quickly they do forget the xbox and PS3! I grew up in Africa (an urban city) and we played played played from when we got home till dinnertime. We'd get together with the local kids and run, climb trees, play hopscotch, try to make dyes out of flowers, spy on the neighbours and run giggling. That's what I want for my son (minus the spying on the neighbours bit...)

Wow... Fave game when I was a kid? Geeze... Me & my friends loved the ropes... Every interval and lunchtime,... we were playing double dutch and singing along 2 the rythym. If it wasnt skipping with the ropes, we were jumping up & down playing Elastix with old pantyhose. :D I remember having an awesome & fun time, b'coz it was an ONLY GIRLS GAME... lol... The boyz didnt stand a chance with us back then.... ;o)

I come from Mumbai in India where you do not have a shortage of children willing & eager to get into any kind of game. I remember playing Round Robin Badminton, Table tennis on someone's dining table! , hopskotch, police and thieves jump rope or even backstreet cricket Yes even the girls could hit or at time whack a ball, break a window and disappear as quickly as possible only later to have mum & dad accompany them to apologise. as most of these were group games and everyone could join in.... the bottom line for all our games was... no one gets left behind" I think that was fun everyday! we would finish school at 4 pm. walk home from school, have a snack & Milk and play till the church bells rang at 7pm for mass. It was our time to go home and the streets were silent. it was shower, study, dinner and bed - in that order for most of us. It was fun & I think now with the new ipods, & play stations, interaction has gone down a lot. outdoor activity levels have gone down and now it is such an effort to organise something like this as every one stays so far away from each other. Apartment blocks were a treat in our days with so many kids around parents never had to worry about outdoor activities. We played till sunset and had a blast..

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